We Always Survive
by Erin Salvatore
Summary: AU/AH. What starts out as a romantic getaway in Belize for Virginia State Senator Damon Salvatore and his wife, Elena, turns into a race for survival when they are taken hostage by Brady and Jules, a pair of terrorists, and it is revealed that they are connected to Damon through a dark past he thought he put behind him.
1. Chapter 1

**We Always Survive**

**by Erin Salvatore**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.**

_**Note: I just got this crazy idea for a new Delena AU/AH story. The plot is this: What starts out as a romantic getaway Belize for Virginia State Senator Damon Salvatore and his wife, Elena, turns into a race for survival when they are taken hostage by Brady and Jules, a pair of terrorists who somehow know Damon.**_

_**Don't ask, my muse is insane sometimes.**_

**Chapter 1**

_San Pedro, Belize..._

Elena Gilbert Salvatore smiled as she walked through the streets of San Pedro, holding hands with her husband, Virginia State Senator Damon Salvatore. They had come to Belize for a romantic getaway and to escape the stress that came with her husband's title since he was elected just last year. Elena had suggested they go somewhere exotic, so they picked Belize, mostly because they had never been there before, and it would be a perfect opportunity to spend some quality time alone together, having never had enough time due to the demands of not only his job, but also her career as a fifth grade teacher.

Damon noticed Elena's smile and smiled himself. "This is beautiful. It's like our own little world."

"I knew you'd like it," she replied. "We've both been so wrapped up in our work lately, and I thought going away together would be just the thing to help us forget about it, even if it's only for two weeks."

Damon squeezed her hand, leaned in and kissed her. "I don't care about the length. As long as I'm with you, that's all that really matters to me. You've been a blessing in my life from the moment I met you, _amore mia_, and I wouldn't trade this for anything."

Elena returned his kiss, grabbed his free hand and placed it on her belly. "I think you're going to have another blessing in your life very soon. Remember that celebration we had the night of your election?"

How could he not remember a night like that? The passion between the two of them was nothing short of amazing, just like the election itself. Of course, it didn't take Damon long to figure out what Elena meant by what she said.

"You mean we're..."

Elena nodded. "Yes, we are."

"Oh my God, that's wonderful," said Damon. "We're going to have a baby." He kissed her again. "I've never been more in love with you than I am right now. How long have you known?"

"I found out last week, just before we left," said Elena. "I wanted to tell you then, but because we were so busy getting things prepared, I opted to wait until now." She returned his kiss. "There's no one I'd rather have as my baby's father than you, Damon."

Damon smiled against her lips. "And there's no one I'd rather have as my baby's mother than you, Elena."

Elena laughed as she heard his reply and kissed him again, letting her love for him flow through her. They stopped walking and continued to kiss, taking no notice of the people that were walking by. To them, the only thing that mattered was each other and nothing could take that away from them.

_Elsewhere..._

While Damon and Elena were unaware, a young man was watching them through his binoculars. This was Brady, and he, along with his partner, Jules, was a highly skilled and deadly terrorist. He had been here in Belize for over two years now, where he also ran a drug trafficking operation.

He had gotten word that Damon was going to be vacationing in Belize with his wife and that filled him with a sinister delight. Little did anyone know that Damon had been part of their operaton in the past, but had since changed his ways. In fact, Brady had always resented Damon for abandoning them and was planning his revenge.

"Enjoy your little vacation while you can, Senator," he said. "Because things are going to get dangerous for you and your wife pretty quickly."

_**Note: Yeah, I know, short beginning, but I promise you, things will get more intense as the story progresses.**_

_**Enjoy and reviews are love!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.**

_**Note: Previously, in "We Always Survive," Senator Damon Salvatore and his wife, Elena, are in Belize for a romantic vacation. Little do they know that they are being watched.**_

_**Thank you for the wonderful reviews so far! You guys are awesome!**_

_Later..._

Damon sat on the bed in the beach villa, waiting for Elena to change into her bikini so that they could walk on the beach before dinner. He was already in his swim trunks, having changed a few minutes before she went into the bathroom. While he was waiting for her, his cell phone rang. Curious as to who could be calling him, Damon looked at the screen and when he saw Stefan's name on the ID, he rolled his eyes. Shit, didn't that moron have anything better to do than to call him on his vacation? He loved his brother, but he had the worst timing imaginable.

Sighing, he pressed "Send" and brought the phone to his ear. "What do you want, Stefan? In case you're not aware, I'm on vacation with my wife and we are not to be disturbed...for _anything_."

"I won't keep you long," the younger Salvatore replied. "I just wanted to let you know that Mom's in the hospital."

Damon blinked. "What? Why? Is she okay?"

"She had a heart attack," said Stefan. "I went to her apartment to check on her and I found her unconscious on the floor. I called 911 and stayed with her until the ambulance arrived. I rode with her on the ambulance and...I won't lie to you, Damon, I never imagined that I would be a witness to something like this."

"You did good, Stefan," said Damon. "I only wish that there was something I could do on my end."

"You could be strong, like you always are," said Stefan. "That's one of the many things I admire about you, brother. You're always strong in a crisis." He sighed. "I'm sorry that this had to come the same time that you and Elena were away."

"Don't apologize," said Damon. "Just do what you can, okay? I'll call Mom later and check on her."

Sighing again, he hung up and ran a hand through his hair. Shit, this was definitely a kick in the ass. The ironic thing was that the last he had seen her, Elisabetta Salvatore had been perfectly healthy. Sure, she had to struggle with being a single mother shortly after the death of her husband, Guiseppe, but she was always a strong woman. In fact, she was the strongest woman Damon ever knew and he always tried to make her proud of him.

_I'm just grateful that she never knew exactly what I did before I met Elena,_ he thought. _Knowledge like that would most likely destroy her._

"Who was that on the phone, Damon?"

Elena's voice brought him out of his reverie and Damon looked over to see her coming toward him. She was wearing a floral print bikini with a matching sorong wrapped around her waist. It was quite flattering on her, and although she wasn't showing much yet because she was still in the beginning stages of her pregnancy, it seemed to fit comfortably around her belly.

Damon forced a smile and said, "That was Stefan."

"Stefan?" said Elena. "What did he have to say?"

Damon's smile faded and he bit his lip. Did he dare to tell her the bad news? He couldn't keep it from her, not when it was important because she had been part of the Salvatore family since she and Damon got married.

"Mom had a heart attack."

Elena gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh my God. Is she going to be okay?"

"I hope so," said Damon. "My mother has always been a strong woman. Even after my father died, although she struggled with raising me and Stefan on her own, she never once lost the strength that I admired about her. In fact, it rubbed off on me."

Elena went over to her husband and sat next to him on the bed, wrapping her arms around him. "She'll make it, I just know. She's a Salvatore, just like us. And if I've learned about the Salvatores, it's their ability to survive about anything that gets thrown at them."

Damon smiled again at her words. Before he could answer him, he saw something being thrown into the room. A closer look told him it was a bomb and not just any bomb. _Shit, it's got knock-out gas in it._

Sure enough, gas emitted from the canister and as much as they tried to fight it, it proved futile because the gas took effect within seconds and their world went black.

_Brady's Stronghold – A Short Time Later..._

The first thing Elena felt when she opened her eyes again was a splitting headache. As her vision cleared, she saw that she wasn't in the beach villa anymore. She quickly sat and looked around, discovering that she was on a cot in a strange room.

_What the hell is going on here?,_ she thought. _Where the hell am I? The last thing I remember is holding Damon in my arms after hearing about his mother._

Upon completing that thought, Elena's eyes went wide, her heart hammering. "Damon?"

No sooner did she say his name than she heard a soft groan coming from the cot across from hers. She looked over and saw Damon there. Gasping, she immediately went to his side and knelt down next to him.

"Damon, wake up."

Damon slowly opened his eyes and saw Elena at his side. "Elena?"

Elena smiled. "Oh thank God. I was worried about you." She looked around the room again. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," said Damon. "But, I think we were followed by whoever threw that knock-out gas bomb into our villa earlier."

"Who would do that?"

"Me."

Elena gasped again when she turned around and saw the one responsible for their situation. Damon sat up and held her in his arms to protect her as he faced their captor.

"All right, you bastard," he said. "Who the hell are you?"

"Who am I?" said the man. "Why, Senator, I'm hurt. I thought for sure you'd remember me. It's me, your old friend, Brady."

Damon blinked. "Brady?"

Brady nodded. "Yes. You have no idea how long I've waited to get back at you for turning your back on me. We were _friends_, you asshole, and you went and threw it all away." He looked at Elena, who clutched tightly onto Damon. "And for this."

"That was a long time ago," said Damon. "I wasn't proud of the things we did. After I was arrested, I was given an option. Either go to jail for the rest of my life or make amends for what I did by doing a complete turn around. I chose the latter."

Brady snarled. "I'll never forgive you for betraying me, Damon." He heard Elena sobbing and brushed her face with his hand, ignoring the trembling he got in response. "You've got a very pretty wife. It would be a shame if she got hurt."

Damon growled. "Leave her out of this. You can settle whatever score you wish to settle with me, but let Elena go. She has nothing to do with this. For God's sake, she's pregnant."

Brady was about to answer him when his partner, Jules, came into the room. "Brady, you've got a phone call coming in."

Brady nodded. "Probably one of our potential customers. Tell him I'll be right there."

Jules nodded back. "Okay."

With that, she walked out of the room. When she was gone, Brady went to walk out after her. He turned and looked at the couple. "Better make yourselves comfortable, because you're going to be here for a while. I'm going to put in a call to the States. I'm sure you'll fetch a nice ransom."

Then, he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Elena pulled out of their embrace and stood up, sobbing and trembling. For a few minutes, she didn't say anything, just kept her back to Damon. Finally, she turned to face him, her face still wet with tears.

"Who are these people, Damon? Why are they doing this to us?"

Damon bit his lip as he saw how upset and scared his wife was. "Elena, there's something you should know about me. Something that I never told you before, but should have. When I was in college, I ran away from home and came here to Belize, where I met up with Brady and got involved in some pretty nasty shit. We manufactured and sold guns, smuggled drugs, you name it, we did it."

Elena's heart hammered as she listened to him. "Why didn't you tell me? Don't you think I _deserved_ to know that about you?"

"I wanted to, really I did," said Damon. "I never meant to keep that from you. I just..."

"You just what, Damon?" said Elena. "You just thought I wouldn't find out eventually? I thought that we had a better relationship than that." She sobbed harder. "I feel like I don't know you anymore." She ran a hand through her hair. "Shit, I'm so stupid."

Damon stood up then and carefully went over to her, hugging her to him. "Elena, don't ever say that again. You're not stupid, far from it." He heard her sobbing and felt her trembling against him. "Honey, please, don't cry. I'm sorry, I should've told you from the beginning."

Elena sniffled as she felt him running his fingers through her hair. "What are we going to do? I don't want to stay here another minute. I'm scared."

Damon nodded. "Don't worry, I'll think of something."

_**Note: Big update, huh? I had a lot to put here, especially the kidnapping. Fear not, Damon and Elena will escape, and although learning about Damon's past was shocking to say the least, Elena will forgive him. Stay tuned!**_

_**ENJOY THE UPDATE AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.**

_**Note: Previously, in "We Always Survive," Damon finds out that his mother is in the hospital, after which he and Elena are kidnapped by Brady and Jules.**_

_**I apologize for the delay in updates, guys. Real life and other writings got in the way. Anyway, I'm going to update this story. I have not abandoned it, it was just on a long hiatus until I got inspired again. No spoilers, you'll have to read to find out what I'm up to.**_

_Brady's HQ – Shortly After the Abduction..._

Damon paced the floor of their cell, running his hand through his hair, grumbling incoherently to himself. He didn't like the situation he and Elena were in, not in the slightest. Just when he thought he put the past behind him, something like this had to happen. He tried desperately to find a way for them to get out of here, even if it didn't seem like anything was jumping out at him at the moment.

From her place on the cot, Elena watched Damon as he paced. She was scared, and for good reason. These people had disrupted what was supposed to be a romantic vacation for her and her husband. What was even worse was the fact that she had found out a piece of information about Damon that she never knew about until now. Even though she felt like she had been lied to, the current situation wasn't allowing her to stay angry with him. She got up and went over to him, grabbing his arms to stop his pacing, and making him look her in the eye.

"I love you, Damon," she said. "I know that I should be upset with you because of what I found out, but for some reason, I'm not." She sighed. "I know that you don't want to talk about it, but I want to know why you got involved with Brady when you were in college."

Damon sighed. "Elena..."

"No, don't tell me that now isn't the time, because it is," said Elena. "I want to know exactly what we're dealing with here so that I can help you."

"Are you sure you want to know?" said Damon. "It's not exactly pretty."

"Yes, I'm sure," said Elena. "If I know what we're up against, we can figure out a way to escape."

Damon took her hands in his, kissing them and then led her over to his cot, sitting down and then sitting her on his lap. "I ran away from home when I was in college because, like most kids, I had a craving for adventure and I felt that I wasn't going to get it if I stayed where I was. My travels brought me here to Belize and for the first several days that I was here, I surfed, I partied, I had sex with exotic women, everything that a guy in his late teens _would_ do in that situation."

"Was that how you met Brady?"

"Actually, I met him at one of the parties I went to," said Damon. "To be honest, I didn't particularly like the vibe I was getting from him when I first met him. He looked like one of those guys from the gangster movies I watched when I was a kid. Anyway, he told me that he knew a way that I could make fast money without having to get an actual job." He sighed. "Of course, I didn't know exactly what he meant until he took me outside to his car, where he showed me the bags of cocaine in the trunk, as well as a metal briefcase that contained a variety of guns he had manufactured."

Elena's eyes widened. "And...did you refuse?"

"I wanted to at first, since my mom raised me to respect the law," said Damon. "But, something prevented me from saying no. I didn't know if it was the alcohol I drank before Brady showed up, but I agreed to work with him on his operation and, up until I was arrested, I was Brady's partner in crime, manufacturing and selling guns, as well as cocaine, marijuana, and whatever illegal drug our clients wanted."

"Did you guys ever kill anyone?"

"I killed a few people that tried to steal from us, yes," said Damon. "Elena, you have no idea how much I regretted getting involved with Brady. I was young and stupid then, and also rebelling against my mother for the first time in my life. At the time, it felt good, but now? Now, it feels like I went and broke her heart."

Elena nodded and pulled back to look at Damon, placing her hands on his face. "I may not like the fact that you didn't tell me, but as I said before, I love you."

"Do you love me enough to forgive me?"

Elena got closer. "How's this for an answer?"

Then, before Damon could say anything, she kissed him passionately. He willingly returned her kiss, laying down on his back on the cot and pulling her on top of him as he deepened the kiss, feeling himself getting hard to the point of pain. Taking his lips off hers momentarily, he whispered against them, "Are you sure you want to do this, Elena? I'm all for it, but what if they're watching us right now?"

Elena looked up and saw that there _were_ cameras in the room. In fact, there was a camera on every corner of the ceiling. Shit, now what?

"Shit, and I _had_ to get horny," she said. "Damon, we _have_ to get out of here, and I mean _now_."

"We will, _cara mia_, I promise," her husband replied. "We just need to find a hole, or at least the _beginnings_ of a hole, and then widen it enough for us to get through. Before I started pacing, I tried to find such a hole, but no dice."

"We can't give up," said Elena. "Salvatores _never_ give up, not when there's hope for everything to work out for the best. That's one of the first things that I learned from the moment you and I began our relationship."

Damon couldn't help but smile at her words. He also found himself falling more and more in love with her at that moment. He kissed her softly and then slowly got up from his cot, helping her up afterward. "Come on, let's find an escape route."

Elena nodded and, kissing him one more time, went over to one corner of the room to locate a hole while Damon went over to another corner of the room. There was a hole somewhere in the room and they needed to find it in order to escape from their captors.

_**Note: Hey, better late than never! Like I said, real life and other writings got in the way and I wanted to make up for lost time by updating. Stay tuned!**_

_**ENJOY THE UPDATE AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!**_


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